What happens if I am seriously ill, disabled or die?
Serious Illness/Total and Permanent Disablement benefit requests
If you believe you are suffering from Serious Illness or Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) you need to contact your scheme provider to discuss your situation and what process you should follow to make a benefit request.
It is your SSRSS scheme trustee's decision as to whether you have proven that you are suffering from Serious Illness. Your scheme provider will require you or and/or your employer to supply sufficient medical information to enable the scheme trustee to make an informed decision.
If the trustee agrees that you are suffering Serious Illness you can withdraw all or part of the total value of your savings.
If the trustee concludes that you are not suffering from Serious Illness, then the trustee must also consider whether or not you have suffered TPD. If the trustee considers that you have suffered TPD then you can withdraw all or part of the total value of your savings.
In both cases, if you choose to withdraw only part of your savings, you must initially leave at least $5000 in your total scheme account balance. Thereafter you can withdraw some or all of the balance of your account from time to time, but you can only make two withdrawals each scheme year and the minimum amount you can withdraw is $1000 or (if the balance is less than $1000) the balance of your account.
When you start a period of extended leave by reason of injury or illness, continuation of contributions will be affected. As a general rule, if you are on paid sick leave, contributions may continue from both you and your employer. Once paid sick leave is used up, your contribution deductions and your employer’s subsidy payments stop.
Death benefit
If you die, your SSRSS scheme trustee must pay the total value of your savings to the executors of your will (or to your estate administrators, if you did not have a will).
As a general rule your scheme provider requires the following information to be able to process a death benefit request:
• contact details of your executors or administrators
• certified copy of your death certificate
• certified copy of proof of probate (if you had a will) or letters of administration (if you did not)
• completed withdrawal request, signed by your executors or administrators.
Your executors or administrators will normally supply this information to the scheme provider. The scheme provider will pay the total value of your savings to your executors or administrators once the death benefit request has been approved.